Beyond the Looking Glass
by Saori Runa Dempsey
Summary: Otherwise called, "Hatter in Oysterland". A look at Hatter's relationship with Alice post-series and some comedic fun sent via Wonderland, courtesy of Jack. **CH.8: Hatter finally gets proof. Heart really DOES hate him.**
1. Chapter 1

_**I knew this was coming. It was just a matter of time. I absolutely fell in love with Hatter and Alice, so I couldn't resist dipping my toes. The only things I found myself disappointed in was the Cheshire Cat's incredibly short appearance (the best Cheshire Cat EVER! CREEPY!), and the adaption of the March Hare. Mad March was a great assassin, admittedly, but it always bugged me, so thus the only supporting OC in this story was created. Hopefully you'll like her.**_

_**Summary: When "David" Hatter went through the Looking Glass, he said goodbye to the memories of a life now behind him. Fate, he's convinced, seems to have a sick sense of humor though.**_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_Chapter One_

* * *

"Son of a-!"

Hatter rubbed at his nose, glaring at the offending piece of concrete. It was Jack Heart's parting shot at him, he supposed; not warning him about the lovely landing he could expect. While he suspected Jack would make a fine king (an admission he would never vocalize upon pain of death), Hatter didn't think he could stomach speaking to him with deference considering they had essentially vied for the affections of the same woman and nearly come to blows once…or twice.

Speaking of said woman…

"Alice!" He scrambled over to where she lay on her side, partially curled into a fetal position, and Hatter felt a surge of panic as he tried to figure out what to do. The abandoned building echoed his steps as he raced for an exit – any exit – and Hatter scowled when he only found himself getting turned around again and again. Up one stairs, down another, one hall after another…

And Alice thought _Wonderland_ was batty?

Fed up, Hatter cracked each finger on his right hand before he fisted it and slammed into the wall facing a street, satisfied when a chunk of wall as big as he was tall crumbled away and fell to the street below.

"Hey! I need some help up here!" Thank God; someone was there. Man or woman, he didn't really see, and Hatter ran back to where he'd left Alice, frowning as he realized she was cold. What little he'd brought over was in a single bag but, thankfully, he'd brought the coat he'd given her to wear during her trip to Wonderland with him. He wrapped it around her, hoping to keep her warm, and was practically bouncing with impatience when he finally heard the echoing tap of shoes on the floor coming closer.

"Bout bloody…" He paused mid-sentence, head tilting. _Well…now that's a shocker_

Arch green eyes regarded him steadily, a phone already to the woman's ear. "Yes, 911? I need an ambulance to the old construction site near Prospect Park. There's a girl unconscious." She nodded and hummed in the affirmative a few times before flipping it shut in one graceful movement, booted feet tapping slightly as she regarded him with steady eyes.

Hatter returned the look ten fold. "Well," he finally said with a tense smile. "Fancy seeing you here."

"I can say the same for you." The Wonderland-thick accent showed itself then along with the sly curl of a smile. "'ello, Hatta."

"Long time no see, Marchie."

"I'd ask what you were doing here," she sighed, "but our illustrious king already gave me the short version of it. Never could make a quiet entrance, could you?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Looking back, his smile dimmed as he paced back to where Alice lay agitatedly. "Why is she not awake?"

"She's likely fine," she soothed with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Perhaps a mild concussion is all. Hardly anything to write home about."

"Concussion?" Hatter's voice dropped a decibel…or three. His knowledge of medical things was the bare basics only, but that didn't sound like nothing to him.

Anyone else would've been frightened by the sudden pitch drop – a clear sign that he was getting mad – but Abigail March had always been a bit of a peculiar bird in that she'd only ever found his irritation exceedingly funny. Clearly, several years of exile from Wonderland had done nothing to cure that.

"That charming little thing that right fist of yours has given more then one person in our youth," she shrugged. "I reckon her head took a knocking when she landed is all."

"That's not nothing!" he snapped.

She merely waved him off again and hurriedly tossed the clothes she'd been carrying at him…as well as the ugliest looking hat he'd ever seen. It was hard and a god awful blinding yellow that Hatter immediately wrinkled his nose at. "Change into those before the ambulance and police get here." When he didn't move, she snapped with a sharp clap of her hands that echoed loudly around them, "Quickly!"

"Alright, alright…" He did so, against his better judgment, and folded his own neatly into the small bag he'd carried over with him when he was done. "Well?"

"Good enough." Her eyes narrowed, however, and she swiped his favorite hat from his head and replaced it with the yellow monstrosity firmly. "Much better. You can pass for a construction worker. The lawmen here will take a dim look if you don't have a good reason for being in this place at this time of night."

He had a million questions – why she of all people was here being one of the top – but bright blue and red lights flashed outside the building windows, the echoes of men shouting as they came closer to where they were.

"Pretend you don't know English and follow me," she pointed out, any traces of her accent gone.

Hatter stayed silent as he followed her, blinking when spoken to and doing a remarkable job of convincing the cop who approached him that he was a halfwit who didn't understand a ruddy thing he was saying. At the same time, Abigail answered it for him, explaining how he was her cousin, David, and how he'd just started his first day here but had forgotten his phone and how they'd seen Alice run into the building as they came to pick it up. It all sounded very credible in its simplicity – it was also a bunch of hooey, but that was neither here nor there.

He did nearly blow it, however, as they began rolling Alice away and prevented him from getting in the big garish red and white vehicle with her.

To anyone else, the hand Abigail placed on his arm was comforting, but Hatter had to gnash his teeth together at the painful grip on his right arm that was sensitive enough as it was. Abby had her own special talents, but the vice grip wasn't one of them – that was all natural and decidedly just as painful as it'd been the last time she'd used his only weakness against him.

"He's from a very old values family," she explained with the ease of a seasoned liar. "He's a bit concerned whenever a woman is injured whether she's a stranger or not, I'm afraid. Feels it's his duty to take care of them and what not."

This seemed to be an acceptable answer because the cop stopped looking at him oddly, though Abigail refused to let him go until everyone had left and all feeling in his right arm had fled.

He held his numb arm to him and glared at her. "I need to be with Alice." If it sounded like a whine, Hatter was certain he was just imagining things.

"I crossover for two years and I miss you turning into a lovesick puppy," Abigail said to herself, amused. The accent, as if it were the most natural thing, was back in her tone as well. "Well then, come on. We can drive to the hospital and you can see your darling Alice. Though her mum is likely there, so remember your story, _David._"

He grimaced again in distaste. "_Hatter,_ Abby, _Hatter_. I'd like to use that name as little as all possible."

* * *

"Name please?"

"David Hatter," he smiled, trying not to grimace. Abby was outside waiting for him, obviously with no intention of leaving him there, so he consigned himself to simply making sure she was alive and well before letting the woman drag him off to bugger knows where. If he had his choice, he'd sit here until Alice was let out, but for better or worse his old pal Abby March was charged with acclimating him to this whole new world by the orders of Jack Heart and the Resistance.

Hatter took the temporary pass and followed the nurse's instructions. She seemed to preen bigger when he grinned at her, pleased that he had what he wanted, and stepped into the elevator that was essentially this world's version of the bus car at the Great Library. Pressing the three as instructed, Hatter tapped an impatient rhythm on the floor as the elevator took its sweet time arriving at its destination. He was cold, he was in clothes that made him feel like a gutter churl, and he was using his birth name more then he had in his entire life (which to most Oysters was a very long time) in just under an hour.

Alice's room wasn't difficult to find – he just knew, instinctively, where she lay and paused as he watched an older woman step outside, her sun-kissed hair cut short and her face the picture of sympathy and concern. She bore a passing resemblance to Alice, and sure enough he noticed out of the corner of his eye that it was her room.

"Can I help you?"

"Ah, yes. My name's Hatter." He took off the wretched yellow hat joyfully, extending his hand. "I just wanted to make sure Alice was alright? I…"

"Oh!" Recognition lit in Alice's mother's eyes. "You're the construction worker who found her?"

He wasn't entirely sure why, but he flushed slightly at the lie. Perhaps it was the incredibly huge hug Carol Hamilton gave him when he nodded in the affirmative.

"I can't stay long," he said, true regret in his tone. That, at least, was true. He wanted to stay, but Alice was asleep and Carol assured him with a grateful smile that Alice was fine; as if he were the one responsible for her being that way. "I've got my ride home outside but I just…"

"Please…we would love to have you over for dinner some time when you're not busy…as a thank you. I shudder to think what might've happened if you hadn't found her." Carol jotted down a number for him on a piece of paper and Hatter took it gratefully. He had no idea what the numbers meant or how to use a phone (the ones they had in Wonderland were essentially just for show – odd little pieces of set dressing from another world – except for the few who had those nifty portable ones imported. Hatter had never seen a need to have a cell phone so he'd never gotten one – a fact he rather regretted now); it was simply one more thing Abby would have to show him.

"I'll do that. I'll be in touch then." He gave his most charming grin – the one he knew melted the hearts of any woman breathing – and subtly tossed the yellow monstrosity that certainly was _not_ a proper hat in a trash bin before he got outside and came face to face with Abby.

Some of his lingering hesitation to leave must have shown because Abby smiled slightly, motioning towards the parking structure where she'd left her car. "Want some chocolate and cream cake?" She grinned, a blinding copy of his own, and patted his back affectionately. "You can stay at my place 'til we get you situated here and the like. Just like old times, eh? I'll even tell you all about the wankers I've been dating here over the cake."

"Hmm. You mean the '_What's their names agains'?"_

"Exactly! And you," she smiled, "can tell me _all_ about how you stole Alice from that pampered princeling!"

_And here I thought I was leaving all of Wonderland behind,_ Hatter thought ruefully once he was in the car and clinging to the door handle for dear life as Abby drove down the streets like a mad woman. _Never thought Wonderland would come find me…even if it is its rejects._

_**

* * *

So what do you think? Horrible? Trash? Moderately entertaining? My logic was that from the sound of it, Hatter had experience being the bitching board for at least one woman in his life (hence the chocolate and cream cake line – two things that scream female comfort food) and I couldn't really see him having a sister and such. The only person I could think of was a friend, and when I think friend to Hatter I think March Hare…which Mad March was supposed to represent, but no. Hence Abigail March is born in my brain. I hope she's likeable.  
**_

_**Anyway, as I am an utter review whore…please review! I'd love to hear your thoughts. They always inspire me to write more, to be honest. *Hint HINT***_

_**Next Chapter: **__Hatter and Alice, post ending. How WILL he explain that kiss off, anyway? XD_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_**Chapter Two**_

* * *

"_I missed you…"_

There were a thousand different scenarios he'd envisioned for their reuniting – most of which included a kiss in some form, admittedly – but this wasn't one of them. He'd been _warned_ about guys making a good impression on Oyster mothers. It was _important_. Half devouring her daughter's face _right in front of her_ didn't seem like it was the best of his ideas, but how was he to be prepared for the tidal wave of emotions that hit him the minute Alice _ran_ into his arms and hugged him?

For all the bad points most Oyster's had, the ability to feel so _deeply_ was something Hatter had found intriguing. In Wonderland, all emotions were fairly even, rising and falling minimally but never enough to really make a difference. They were pale diluted reflections of the things Oysters possessed (which is why those abominations for 'tea' had been so ruddy popular) and when he was near Alice…well, he felt it. He felt the drastic rises and falls in his own emotions and they soared higher then the sky when she touched him, so warm and soft and he'd just wanted one simple touch to those _lips_…

The abashed look on his face once he pulled away wasn't entirely feigned, still facing Alice rather then her mother. It was comforting that he wasn't the only one who looked a bit shocked by the intensity in that kiss, her face the image of surprise once she realized what they'd done. Neither of them had been very touchy feely in Wonderland, more due to her reticence then anything from his side of things.

"Alice?" It was both a reprimand and question, clearly heard and understood as _his_ Alice winced, as if struck, and grinned a shy smile that made him want to split into a wide grin of his own.

God, she was so adorable sometimes.

"Mom…I can explain that," she told her, dislodging herself from his arms and keeping a discrete distance that made him want to pout. He already ached for the feel of her in his arms, though it was nothing he didn't logically understand. Couldn't go off and jump her every time in the presence of her mum. Even in Wonderland, there were rules about such things.

"I'd love to hear it." There was reprimand, censure, and curiousness in Carol's tone, and Hatter had to remind himself that, according to Abby, barely a day had passed since she'd met Jack. Oyster women just didn't jump in their affections that quickly, though he was baffled as to why not. Wonderland women did it all the time. It was just a matter of course to trade up in relationships for money, knowledge, power…whatever it was that tickled your fancy. He'd always done so in what relationships he'd had for knowledge and some measure of political power…money was just an added bonus if it was included since its value was decidedly less then the value Oysters put on it.

"This is not the first time we've met," he tried to explain, ignoring the dry looks both women shot him. No more wondering about where Alice got _that_ look from. "We've a mutual acquaintance in Jack…Chase. Met a few times, sort of a meet-the-friends-of-the-bloke brunch type thing, and struck up a friendship of sorts."

Whether Carol believed this or not, he couldn't say, though Hatter suspected not. Still, she went with it, looking at her daughter rather pointedly. "Really? You never mentioned it to me. I thought you said Jack didn't seem to have many friends."

"He doesn't," Alice agreed. "Just Hatter and one or two others that I know of."

"So you and David are acquainted," Carol murmured, still staring that unnerving stare at them both like they were errant little children suspected of playing with fire. "What happened last night then? Last I knew you were just going to take a break with Jack, yet today…" She stared at _him_ pointedly now. "…Today you're jumping into David's arms like a long lost love."

"When I ran after Jack, I saw him down an alley," Alice began, casting a brief glance towards him out of the corner of her eye. "He was on the phone with a woman – his fiancée." She paused here, visibly recalling the pain that piece of information must've caused her when she first found out, and Hatter mentally added it to the list of things he needed to punch Jack Heart in the face for.

He saw the story play out in his mind even before he piped up, picking it up to spin it so it blended with his own. The words formed easily on his tongue, though a part of him really disliked lying so blatantly to Alice's mother. Lying to good, honest people had never left a good taste in his mouth, after all. "I ran into her then – she'd run blindly into the building while I was heading back to the site to get my phone." He held up the tiny portable cell Abby had tossed at him (literally) before he'd left. "We talked a bit, I tried to calm her some, and I kind of…slipped out that I fancied her." Hatter shrugged with his most self-depreciating smile on his face. "Never could be accused of having the best timing ever for those sorts of things. When we got up to leave, she knocked into one of the beams."

Dutifully, Alice touched the goose egg on her head that the fall from the mirror had caused. "Really bad timing," she agreed with a completely straight expression. "Honestly, he's always been nice to me – nicer then I deserved a lot of times." Her voice dipped in real emotion and Hatter warmed as he raised a hand to take one of her own, caressing the back of hers with his thumb. It was an action Carol did not miss, though she didn't make any sign of having noticed. "I told him we could take it slow and see…" Rather half heartedly, he thought with an amused twitch of his lip, she turned and gave him the evil eye. "Though that was certainly not _slow_."

"I was overcome by the glow of your presence, dear Alice." Hatter didn't bother hiding his grinning smile this time, going low in a sweeping bow at her. His hat fell from his head and rolled down his arm to his hand, finishing the effect as Carol Hamilton's lips quirked in unabashed amusement. The slightly suffocating fog that had been descending around them all lifted, and Hatter breathed a mental sigh of relief.

"He's certainly a charmer with pretty words," she murmured, shaking her head with a smile.

Alice breathed a sigh too, squeezing his hand once. "You have no idea, mom. No idea."

* * *

Dinner passed uneventfully, though it was more like an informal inquisition if he were honest. Carol Hamilton was a charming hostess, all gentle smiles and comforting radiance, but had a way of asking questions that would put Mad March to shame. Hatter kept his answers as truthful as possible, and he really didn't have to lie for most of them. He really didn't remember his parents and really _had_ spent the majority of his youth on the city streets with a rag tag group of fellow orphans that eventually dwindled to just him and one other. Alice seemed intently interested in it all, which made him a little nervous, but he tried to ignore that for later.

They had all the time in the world to get to know each other now.

By the end of the night, as Carol stood to retreat, he was surprised to receive a warm hug from her – one he returned after the initial surprise ebbed away. Hatter waited until she'd disappeared into her room to fall back onto the couch, arms spread out along the back and a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding coming out in a long whoosh.

"Your mum is a mite intimidatin', Alice."

"She likes you," she admitted, standing behind him so that she was looking down into his face, a sort of wondering expression on her own. She touched his face with her own, gentle as a feather.

Hatter closed his eyes and breathed contentedly, "That feels good." He shivered slightly when he hand drifted down from his cheek to his neck and the slope of his shoulder, inordinately pleased by the feather soft sensations the movements created along his skin. Opening his eyes, he smiled slightly when he noted the close proximity their faces were in and reached up to close that distance…

Until the stupid phone in his pocket vibrated, bleated out a loud blaring of trumpets noise, and made him leap a good two feet in the air.

Snapping a curse in Wonderland's ancient tongue that no one even knew anymore (and something he only knew from years of childhood boredom and a wealth of ancient tomes in the Great Library at his disposal), Hatter almost chucked the evil thing out the open window of the apartment before deciding better of it. Flipping it open, he had to press a few buttons (with a little help from a very amused Alice) before he managed to pull up the text message thing that had interrupted their otherwise perfect moment.

"Hope you survived," he read out loud, "Key to apartment is inside the mailbox. Wake me up when you get back and die." Hatter made a noise and closed the phone with a grunt. "It's like my childhood all over again. Next thing you know Dodo will be randomly popping up to thrash me for doing things his spies let him know I've done." He paused and looked out the nearest window, eyes narrowed thoughtfully. He didn't _see_ anyone, but then, members of the Resistance typically weren't ever seen. Not the _good_ ones, anyway. And Dodo had always sent the good ones to keep an eye on him.

"You're staying with someone?" Alice asked, surprised.

"Jack and the Resistance had an old pal of mine who's been living in your world here help me get acclimated to life in this world. Same one who helped Jack when he first came." He'd also been a royal pain in the ass about being taught things, if even half of what Abby had told him last night were true. It had earned Wonderland's current monarch a wide array of nicknames, _'Pampered Princeling'_ being one of the _nicer_ ones. "I'm going to be staying with her until I learn enough to be on my own, then I'll take over Jack's former apartment." It rankled to use anything of his, but Hatter was comforted by the fact that he'd barely used the place and that he could model it to his own style before he moved in.

"…_Her?_" Alice's voice dropped an octave and Hatter looked up when he realized it was not a happy sound. "You're staying with a _woman?"_

_Oh hell,_ he thought. _Me and my big mouth._

_

* * *

_**Well, that was delightful fun. Hatter managed to get interrupted in a nice little moment with Alice by his phone (Come on, I know lots of people had to have that happen once or twice), interrogated by Carol, and stick his foot in his mouth all in one chapter. Lol. I LOVE Hatter. He is too much fun to torture...I mean PLAY with. Not so much Abby here, aside from some brief references. This really is Hatter-centric since it's more his time to shine.**

**As always, PLEASE review. Even if this is more of a fun thing for me to write (As I rewatch Alice on a perpetual loop on my PS2), I really do want feedback.**

**Next chapter: **_Hatter gets to see why it's a bad idea having a best mate who's a girl (and knows a lot of embarrassing things) and the object of his affections (who is just a tad bit jealous) together in the same room._**  
**


	3. Chapter 3

Beyond the Looking Glass

_**Chapter Three**_

* * *

Alice was _jealous._

It made him giddier then a schoolboy, admittedly. She even smacked his arm and flipped him onto his back with one of her delightfully peculiar moves when she got irate enough with him for teasing her with that fact. If Hatter thought about it very deeply though, he had to admit that it was absurd. Abby was more bloke then bird, as it were, and last he'd checked he definitely preferred his partners to be of the more…feminine persuasion.

"More bloke then bird, huh?" Alice smiled as they walked down the street towards the apartment building where he was staying, his arm slung haphazardly over her shoulders. It was a light gesture, but the message it advertised was clear: _mine_.

"She is. Really." Hatter grinned cheerfully at her when Alice just gave him a dry look, obviously still not quite believing. "Truthfully, I think you might like her. She'll definitely love you." _And what a sweat-inducing nightmare that's been giving me._

It'd been a week, so far, since that dinner with Alice and her mother – less then that since he'd told Abby that he'd inadvertently made Alice jealous and could she _please_ be nice and meet her? It wasn't a particularly unusual request – she'd made the same one to him numerous times for several of the blokes in Wonderland she'd dated. Hatter had to admit, he was a bit like them too. Possessive, though not overly so like some of the dim bulbs he'd had to meet. It was simply how things were _done_.

On a whole, Wonderland's male population was a selfish lot. Very few married for anything but convenience. Knowledge and power were the tools of the trade with courtship – love, if you wanted it, could always come later. He'd been the same way, once. Even with Abby…sort of. She was a valuable asset, having aided him at the teashop into making it a thriving business. At least, she had until the whole Mad March fiasco that had forced her to take shelter in the Oyster's world to escape the Queen of Heart's wrath. Nasty business, that.

Fortunately, time and working closely with Oysters who'd stumbled through the mirror to get them _back_ home (something that had become an unofficial job for him, as it were) before they were noticed had tempered his view in regards to such things. Hatter attributed it mostly to the lovely young Oyster couple who he'd helped not long before his Alice had arrived. The female had been an idealist, constantly yammering about this and that once she'd realized how he regarded his relationships. It hadn't _changed_ anything, per se, but it had opened his mind up to a path he hadn't realized was even there and available to him.

And then came his Alice; his beautiful, gorgeous, kind of jealous in an _I-don't-want-to-admit-it _way woman of legend in those ridiculous raspberry tights that alone looked peculiar (even to him) and yet looked so deliciously wonderful when wrapped around those wonderfully shaped legs…

"Hatter?" Alice snapped her fingers in front of his face and he shook his head, grinning as he drew her to a stop easily.

"This is it," he pronounced, walking into the building lobby. He took her to the elevator and pressed the ninth floor, whistling an old childhood song under his breath until he realized Alice was being awfully _silent_. If there was one thing Hatter had learned from their escapades in Wonderland, it was that Alice was rarely silent. Her curiosity simply wouldn't allow it.

She was gaping like a fish, lovely blue eyes wide as she took in their surroundings and looked out through the glass elevator as the ground floor got higher and higher. Hatter only offered his arm while she grabbed it in a vice grip, her fear of heights clearly not forgotten in the excitement of her return and his arrival.

The expression, he realized, only worsened when they entered Abby's apartment.

It was, admittedly, quite typical of something she would choose. It was spacious with three bedrooms and two full baths and something only Suits of the court would've ever been likely to see. While Hatter had never minded living in relatively generous poverty, Abby had always been one for dreaming big and wanting to live like the Hearts. It was a nice dream, admittedly, but one he'd never dared to indulge in simply because it had never seemed like a likely thing for him.

The furniture, thankfully, looked nothing like the Heart's décor of choice but something more along the lines of what he preferred. Very modern and quirky – a mix of colors arranged in such a way that they shouldn't have worked but did. She even had a replica of the old chair he'd had in the office at his old tea shop, though this one was black and setup in front of the computer thingy Abby had attempted to teach him about last night after letting him try a delightful Italian delicacy called a scone. Admittedly, the pastry held more appeal to Hatter then the computer.

"Wow." Alice took a couple steps in, awestruck, and nearly stepped on one of the rabbits hopping freely about the spacious apartment. Abby still had that peculiar attachment to the creatures, though he wasn't particularly surprised. "Hatter, this place is amazing!"

He beamed happily at her approval, slipping a casual arm around her shoulder as he gave her a tour. "That's the rabbit room – Abby loves the little things. She hasn't changed, in that respect. Had herself a whole colony of them back in Wonderland. Not so many here, but enough. That's her room there and…" He led her to the door farthest from Abby's, separated by the bathroom and a ridiculously spacious closet. "That's mine. Kind of plain, to be honest, but didn't want to touch it too much since I won't be here too long."

That fact seemed to sooth some of Alice's misgivings notably, and she looked around as if expecting someone to pop out of thin air. "Where _is_ Abby? I thought you were taking me to meet her?"

"I am! She should be back…"

The door to the apartment swung open widely, and Hatter flipped the hat he'd been holding in his hand up into the air, the black fedora landing easily on his head with ease.

"…now. Come say 'ello, Abby."

To be fair, Hatter tried to see what Alice did as Abby dumped the five filled-to-bursting brown bags onto the counter. Like most gutter churls in Wonderland, she was of respectable height at an inch or two taller then Alice but somehow seemed much more waif-like even despite being notably healthier looking then the last time he'd seen her. With her long sun-kissed brown hair identical to his own in color pulled up haphazardly into a bun that was already letting long pieces of hair trail out and caress smooth, lightly tanned skin, her bright green eyes stood out like emeralds in the sun.

She was, quite frankly, a looker.

_OK, so maybe I can see why the tiny bit of jealousy is only logical,_ Hatter conceded. _She was always one of the better pieces of eye candy, after all. I might've even taken advantage of our symbiotic arrangement long ago if it weren't for the fact that she's even madder then I'm supposed to be. _"Alice, this is Abigail March. Abby, this is Alice."

How a woman could stalk another in the way Abby was doing now in those incredibly high and _thin_ heeled shoes was beyond him. It was some sort of special female ritual, he'd long since concluded. He'd seen one too many women (and not necessarily just Abby) do it to _not_ be just a slight bit concerned. It almost always preceded a tumble between said women, and while a tumble between Abby and Alice made the wholly male side of him inordinately excited, he'd rather not have them be at odds. While Hatter had missed his dear friend (something he'd only later realized Abby had been to him) dreadfully, he loved Alice with a passion no faux tea could replicate.

His concern, however, turned into outright confusion when Abby abruptly stopped, smiled hugely, and shook Alice's hand vigorously enough that he half expected her feet to come right off the ground. "A joy to finally meet you! Well then, what are you both staring at? Come on! Help me put this stuff away and we can get going!"

Even Hatter had to blink in confusion. "Go _where?_"

Abby shot him that look that made him feel all of ten years old and like a completely daft idiot. "To my shop, of course! Where else?"

* * *

She was not _jealous._

Alright, so she was a _little_ jealous, Alice conceded. Abby March was simply stunning to look at and had an energy level that matched Hatter's enthusiasm once he learned her "shop" was in actuality a tea shop. But watching them interact, she found herself less jealous and more confused then anything.

_Did Hatter have a twin and just forget to tell me?_

It was still rather surreal to her still – Hatter was _here_ in New York. He was _real_. He hadn't been a figment of her imagination, dreamt up in response to some subconscious accumulation of traits she thought she needed in a man. He was flesh and blood, as frustrating as ever, and able to make her feel things more strongly then any man before him. That this gorgeous woman had known him when Alice hadn't – knew a side of Hatter she didn't – made her envious.

_But he came for me._ That knowledge was…well, it had done things to her insides Alice had no words for. It thrilled her and frightened her. What if she couldn't satisfy him? Practically speaking, she knew very little of Hatter or what it was that would make him happy. He would leave if she couldn't and his leaving her would destroy her in a way even Jack's betrayal hadn't touched.

"You're a thousand miles away," Abby's feminine voice said, and Alice crashed back to Earth and realized they were stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and that Hatter was nowhere to be found. She looked around quickly, relaxing once she realized he was simply inside the shop they'd stopped in front of, messing with things behind the unmanned counter and grinning like a ten year old let loose in a candy store. "Something wrong?"

"I'm jealous," Alice said without thinking, slapping a hand over her mouth as soon as she let the words free. Embarrassed, she forced herself to look Abby in the eyes, though she had little hope of actually reigning in the heated blush that stained her cheeks. "I mean…"

Abby gave her a subdued version of Hatter's grin, looking briefly to where Hatter was poking around before turning back towards her and nodding. "I can tell. He's a bit of an idiot with that sort of thing, you know. You'll have to be straight with him about it." There was obvious affection in her tone, but little else as far as Alice could hear. "We went through a lot together as kids – I can't say that I don't have a soft spot for him after all that. I'd be lying, and I can tell you're the type like me who'd always prefer ugly truths to pretty lies."

Alice nodded firmly. She'd had her fill of lies, thank you. "I appreciate your honesty."

Smiling slightly, the Hatter's female counterpart motioned towards him with her head. "You know he's completely gone on you, right? He'll always notice a pretty bird when he sees one – myself included – and might even comment something along those lines, but it looks to me like he's already decided where he wants to roost if you catch my drift, ya?"

_OK, so she is pretty cool,_ Alice thought, her heart thumping a little harder as she digested Abby's meaning. And she _did_ like her, all things considered. "I never was very good with the whole sharing thing."

Abby laughed then, loud enough to make her jump, and even Hatter looked up from the inside to shoot a worried look towards them. "Oh, that's _perfect_ then! He's no better and good luck if you happen to have any blokes you call friends of your own."

"Everything alright?" Hatter glared at them both rather cautiously as he rejoined them, obviously wary.

"Perfectly fine!" Abby's identical grin bloomed to life again, and she swept past him with all the pride of royalty and babbled cheerfully about her business while Hatter just kept watching her, obviously still concerned and rather anxious like a puppy.

"Everything really OK?" he asked her quietly, taking her hand in his as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Smiling, Alice leaned up and kissed him, smiling impishly when she pulled away to look at his startled expression. "Perfectly fine, Hatter. I was just thinking about how nice it would be to have a puppy."

_**

* * *

He IS rather puppy-like, isn't he? Kept returning to her side like clockwork and everything even when she told him to go away. Ah, Hatter, you are just too cute. *Sigh***_

_**Well, I hope the whole dynamic between Hatter and his old pal Abby is coming off like I want it to. She is NOT going to be any kind of romantic foil for our lovely duo, but I do see Alice being a tad jealous of her none the less, even if she does rather like the other Wonderland native. It can't be helped since Abby HAS seen a side of Hatter that Alice has not – a side of him that will get explored once Hatter decides to open up about his past. Besides, he won't be the only one with friends of the opposite sex. XD**_

_**Anyway, thank you to all who have been reviewing! It's wonderful getting to read feedback, so please keep them coming!**_

_**Next up: **__Abby makes Hatter an offer he can't refuse and Alice introduces Hatter to her "wonderfully peculiar" style of fighting._


	4. Chapter 4

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_**Chapter Four**_

* * *

He was dying.

Hatter stared at the ceiling, blinking as he tried to remember how to breathe. One, two, in, out…

Alice's face appeared before him, a glow around her face, and Hatter couldn't stop the dopey smile from crossing his face. "I've died, haven't I?"

"I didn't flip you _that_ hard," she laughed at him, pulling him up, and the painful soreness in his arms and back confirmed it. Nope, no dream. Not dead. It wouldn't _hurt_ if he were dead.

Hatter grimaced as he stretched his back, making it pop audibly. As the chatter of other Oysters floated to his ears, he gratefully drifted off to the side, Alice's class filing in wearing the same white get up Alice was, though the sashes varied in color. She'd explained the bare basics of it to him – how each color represented a different level of mastery – and it was somewhat amusing to see that only two others were at the same level as Alice.

There had been forms of fighting in Wonderland as well, imported from this world in fact, but Hatter had neither the money nor the attention span to learn them. Hitting when an opponent was open and ducking like hell when something was flying at him had always worked well for him. Abby had even tried to teach him once, when one of her blokes of the week had taught her some, but Hatter had long since decided that a structured fighting style simply didn't suit him. Flying by the seat of his pants did.

Watching Alice, her face lit up in excitement as she taught her class a new move, he almost wished he _had_ taken to it. She moved with a familiar confidence, but there was a joy in her expression too that Hatter had never really seen on her face before – an almost feral pleasure as she flipped men over twice her physical size onto their backs with an ease that made Hatter's chest swell with pride.

_That's my girl!_

She wasn't the only one, however. At least a quarter of the class was women, varying between teens to women as old as their thirties. Tall ones to short ones and thin ones to stout ones, they all flipped men twice their size as if they weighed little more then a chipmunk.

Unfortunately, it also meant he noticed the appreciative looks she got every so often from her male students, mostly young and strapping blokes around her age or slightly older. As much as Hatter knew he _looked_ the part of a late 20-something, he felt so much older in that one moment compared to all the shining youth in the room that it was depressing.

He _was_ so much older.

_One hundred and fifty seven. _He looked _good_ for the age, but it was an abnormal one by Oyster standards. If he aged the same way he had in Wonderland, he could reasonably be expected to live for another century, easy. Hell, Abby was two hundred something and still showed no signs of aging at all.

_Will I still be here when youth fades and Alice begins to age long before I ever will?_

He'd never told her that, the aging difference, though he _had_ alluded to as much. Hatter doubted Alice had realized it, however. Jack Heart was what he looked, having been very young and only recently born, but Hatter had been around long before Jackie even knew what a girl was. He'd been around, even if he had been a young boy in truth, when the first Alice of Legend had come to Wonderland.

He remembered a Wonderland very much different then the one it was now.

Thinking about the past made Hatter drift away into his memories, both pleasant and not, and he didn't actually snap out of it until Alice stood over him and poked him in the arm, dressed in her normal clothes and holding a duffel bag over her shoulder.

"You alright, Hatter?" she asked, concern etched in her face, and he smiled winningly to put her at ease.

"I'm fine, my love," he murmured, kissing her fleetingly as he got to his feet, and Alice leaned into him, all warm and flushed from her recent exertions.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"You were a sight to behold," he grinned down at her, though he'd seen very little beyond the beginning parts of it. "But I already knew that, love. All of Jack's stuffy suits know that, too."

She grinned right back at him, though it had a sheepish quality to it that his lacked. "I did apologize to Ten before I left. We did quite a number on them, apparently."

Hatter snorted audibly. That was understating it quite a bit. He'd never held a big opinion of the Suits to begin with – had spent too long outsmarting them at every turn – but the men in the Heart's employ knew how to shoot and fight at the very least. Most, if not all of them had a healthy respect for his Alice and were more then a little glad to see her go home at the same time. "You don't know the half of it."

She tried to look abashed and failed miserably, too proud to look properly chagrined and he kissed her again, a longer, more playful lingering against her lips that she responded to with equal enthusiasm. Kissing Alice was quickly becoming his favorite pastime, though he was proud of the fact that he hadn't done a repeat performance in front of her mum again. While Carol seemed to like him for the most part despite her confusion over his abrupt appearance, Hatter doubted she'd appreciate a show like that again.

They broke away laughing as he stumbled a little until his back hit into the wall and he cracked his head against one of the shelves displaying some of the dojo's trophies, though neither let go of the other for a good couple of minutes. They just stayed where they were, Hatter pressed between the wall and Alice, arms linked loosely about her waist while she leaned against him, her head turned to listen as his heart beat a steady rhythm inside his chest.

"Is it weird that I keep expecting Jack or Charlie to come barging in right now?" she laughed, only partly joking.

"Not really, though if they do I really will have to kill them," he swore, smiling when she laughed. "I'm not kidding!"

He's not and she knows it, but Alice ignores that lingering thought and stands on her tiptoes to kiss him again, murmuring against his lips, "I'm just really glad you're here, Hatter…"

"That's good," he smiles, his heart feeling suspiciously warm. "I'm glad I'm here too."

* * *

If he looked like a fool once he barged into the apartment, Hatter really didn't give a wit.

"I'd say you looked like a man who got to have his desert before dinner," Abby said dryly, spinning around in her chair to look at him as he came in, "but you're too keyed up to have gotten any of that. Alice doesn't seem the type to give it up that quick, anyway. What has you in such an awfully good mood?"

Hatter merely whistled, making her eyebrow arch further into her hairline, and drifted over to the fridge to grab one of the scones they still had. They really were quite good, though some of the flavor had been lost since they weren't nearly as fresh anymore. "Can't I simply be in a good mood?"

"Not without reason, no." Abby didn't even blink or pause as she said so. "Though I suppose it's to my benefit, tonight. I've been wanting to talk to you about something."

Curiosity nibbling at his head, Hatter directed most of his attention her way, head tilting. "You always have something to talk to me about. Well? New tea at your shop?"

"Yes…but that's not what it's about! Shut up and sit down!" He did, though Hatter grinned wickedly as he did so. Abby just rolled her eyes at him. "You've learned most of the basics about living here– it's time you got a job."

Wonderful as doing nothing all day was, Hatter was cheered by the announcement. Idle hands meant an idle mind and he detested being idle. "Finally!"

"I think you would do well at the club," she continued on, as if he'd never spoken. "I'm part owner of a club near Times Square too, you know. One of our regular bartenders quit so it seems like a good place for you; talk to customers, flirt lightly, serve drinks, and dress flashy but sexy like you already do."

If he puffed up slightly like a proud peacock, Hatter ignored it. "I dress sexy, do I?"

Again, she ignored him. It was becoming something of a routine for her. "We do theme nights, as a sort of gimmick to attract patrons, at the club named after a piece of our own motherland. Themes change nightly, but the concept is the same. Kick ass music, lots of drinks, lots of good food, and many, many Oysters looking for some eye candy and a good time." Abby finally looked at him then, eyes raking him up from head to toe. "You do make fine eye candy, Hatta. You know this."

He most certainly did _not_ preen, though he did grin bigger. "Sounds a blast. When can I start?"

"Come by tonight and take a look at how we run things," Abby smirked. "Bring Alice too. Should be fun." Standing, she stretched, all long arms and legs that he admired dutifully before running through the clothes he had in his closet mentally. He knew clubs were pretty much the same here as they were in Wonderland, though they were less seedy here and more fun…mostly. Lots of dancing and loud music; no drug dealers and drugged up addicts in the respectable ones. Hatter had garnered that much from the snippets of knowledge he caught when he sat in Tea Tyme, Abby's tea shop, listening to the Oysters around him chatter amongst themselves. He'd learned most of his stuff simply listening to them with Abby or Alice filling in any missing gaps every day.

As she passed by him to retreat into her room, Abby paused and leaned down to chuckle, "You'll especially love tonight. Alice in Wonderland theme."

Hatter didn't even bother to try and hide his loud laughter.

Oh, tonight was going to be _perfect!_ And he knew _just_ the thing to wear.

_**

* * *

And so ends another little chapter. Some nice Hatter/Alice fluff and Abby seems to have decided that Hatter is safe enough to unleash on New York's nightlife. Oh boy. Admittedly, I think bartender would be a perfect job for him. Can you SEE the amount of money he'll garner on tips alone?**_

_**On another note, I'm glad Abby is becoming endearing – I enjoy writing her interactions with Hatter. Things will get even better once things settle down some in normalcy…and Alice gets comfortable enough to try and inquire about Hatter's past.**_

_**As always, THANK YOU for all the lovely reviews! Please keep them coming and I will reply to them as quickly as I'm able. =)**_

_**Next Chapter: **__Hatter takes "The Cheshire Club" by storm and finds out Alice has quite the delicious evil streak…_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_**Chapter Five**_

* * *

She was insane.

Alice was convinced of this as Abby happily messed with her hair, Hatter slouching so appealingly in the black chair he fancied so much as they prepared to go to Abby's club. His entire look was exactly the same as the getup she'd first met him in, only the color scheme was greens and whites and blacks with mixes of gold. His hat was closer to that of the Mad Hatter's in the child's cartoon she'd once let him watch, complete with the 10/6 card in the dark green band of the hat. To be truthful, she much preferred the red and brown scheme better, but Hatter still looked delicious anyway no matter what color he wore.

Besides, Abby was in the red tonight.

She was _gorgeous_ – Alice still had no idea how Hatter could seem so completely unfazed by her. Knee-high heeled black boots laced up those high legs, only a few inches of skin showing between where the boot ended and the red and black plaid skirt began. The white button up beneath the form fitting black vest was undone messily, hiding most of her cleavage only because of the loose red tie matching Hatter's own green one. She too sported a hat, only hers sported a set of rabbit ears, completing the whole _'March Hare'_ image everyone was most familiar with.

Staring at them both side by side as they murmured quietly and eyed her speculatively, Alice had to admit she'd never think of the two characters the same again. They were quite simply too painfully stunning to look at and madder then a box of frogs when they smiled so hugely like that in tandem, every bit the friends the books made their namesakes out to be.

"It's perfect," Abby declared with a pleased nod, and Hatter did a wiggle of his eyebrows that concurred with her declaration. Lust was there too in his eyes, right behind the twinkling mischief that was always present and the promise of darker and more…pleasurable things later should she decide to collect.

Alice still wasn't sure if she wanted to or not.

Everything about Hatter screamed _intense_. Combined with his natural ability to make her brain melt with only a look and Alice knew she would be gone. There would be no turning back once she slept with him. While she knew she loved him, so strongly it physically hurt sometimes, a part of her was still scared witless of that leap. She loved Hatter; she _trusted_ Hatter. These facts were absolute without a doubt in her mind, but a part of her was afraid to open herself up to that level of pain if he should ever decide to leave.

_He's not going to leave,_ her idealistic side – the one that Hatter had brought to life inside of her – reminded her logically. _He came through the Looking Glass for you and sold everything he had to follow you. You've faced the Queen of Hearts herself with less reticence – where is your courage?_

_Where indeed._

"You look good enough to eat," he murmured, nibbling on her ear in that husky timbre that sent pleasant shivers down her spine. Abby was suspiciously absent, and Alice half wished she _were_ here, if for nothing else then to give her a fighting chance at holding onto her rapidly fleeing brain cells.

"Not nearly as delicious as you," she grinned, stroking an ego that honestly didn't need it. It made Hatter puff up in pride, however, pleased, and Alice consoled herself with the fact that if she didn't deflate it eventually, Abby certainly would.

Speaking of which, said woman was standing by the door (how she slipped by without either of them noticing Alice had _no_ idea), tapping her foot in an impatient rhythm. "You two horny teenagers done snogging so we can get going? Night's a wastin'!"

Hatter growled under his breath, too low for Alice to hear, but she got the gist of it from the evil eye he kept shooting at the woman. "Just because it's been a while for _you_…"

Abby paused then, whirling in a slow turn with a smile that wasn't a smile so much as a really evil snarl. "Finish that thought, Haigha Jr, and you won't be _capable_ of such activities for another decade."

"You wouldn't do that to Alice." Hatter's smile replicated her own, a darkness Alice had seen only a handful of times in his face. It also drove home that they were both serious – no idle threat about it.

His challenge only made Abby's smile go wider and Alice momentarily flashed back to the replica of Dinah she'd seen in Wonderland; that wide stretching smile that had sent shivers of apprehension straight down her spine. "Oh, you'd be surprised at what a good vibrator does for a gal. Just as good as a man and not nearly as yappy."

"_And _on that note, I'm going," Alice decided, her face hot enough to boil an egg. She wasn't generally easily embarrassed, but she drew a line at joking about vibrators with Hatter looking delicious and only inches away from her.

Abby blinked as Alice stepped out into the hall, head tilting and her expression suddenly perplexed from its formerly dark look; a look Hatter matched with equal bemusement. "Was it something we said?"

_

* * *

The Cheshire Club,_ Hatter decided, was the perfect place for him.

The club was two levels, the top one being littered with mismatched couches for lounging and chattering and the bottom mostly open for dancing and the stage where bands performed live or a DJ handled the music like tonight.

Hatter almost had an apoplexy when he realized the nutter in charge of the music was supposed to be dressed as _him_ though.

"I would never dress like that!" he snapped as Alice dragged him away, laughing behind her hand.

"It's the new movie by Tim Burton, Hatter," she tried to soothe him with. "It's how the Mad Hatter looks in it."

"But…but…that _hair_! I would never allow my hair in such a state! And _orange?_ He looks like a ghost that mated with a carrot and got shoved into my Great Uncle Hagis' old smoking jacket!"

He didn't suppose Alice could help her giggling, and Hatter's only consolation was that he did so enjoy watching her laugh. She'd never laughed freely – not once – during her entire time in Wonderland. It was a state of mind he liked keeping her in…even if it _was_ at his expense and…

"Why is that bloke holding a stuffed rabbit?"

"Come dance with me," Alice sighed, still smiling and trying valiantly not to laugh at him.

Hatter allowed himself to be dragged off to dance, though he was still watching the Hatter-dressed oyster with the stuffed rabbit peculiarly. "Is that supposed to represent _Abby?_" Shaking his head, he continued rambling, "Crazy Oysters. She's not a _real_ hare…"

"Hatter!"

He whipped around, confident smile in place, almost immediately losing it as she grabbed him by the tie and yanked him closer. "Yes love? Not that I'm complaining about being manhandled you see, but could you maybe loosen it up a smidge?"

"Shut _up_," she breathed, grinning wickedly as the lights around them dimmed, and Hatter had maybe a moment to wonder what the bloody hell she was up to before the entire room around him when nuttier then Dee and Dum on a tea high.

Lights pulsed rapidly, messing with his sight as he got disjointed images of Alice moving to the crazy Oyster music playing, but even those brief glimpses were enough.

It had to be illegal to move like that. Honestly, Hatter was too stunned to do anything as she moved in ways that captivated his eyes and screwed with his brain so badly he didn't have the clarity of mind to drag her into a corner and snog her senseless. If he were capable of thought, he'd also gouge out an eye or two of some of the male attention she was garnering with those hip-swaying moves, but Hatter was too far beyond caring to think of doing anything but taking her someplace private at the moment and having his wicked way with her.

Alice shimmied against him, the tight blue dress inching a little higher as she moved, and he stared, rather entranced as the faintest edge of the frilly garter thing winked out at him. He hadn't understood what the purpose of the thing was when Abby had pulled it out with that manic grin on her face, but now he was grateful. Very, _very_ grateful. The woman was madder then a box of frogs, but she was a bloody genius.

He touched that insignificant piece of satin clasped along her thigh, his free hand wrapping around Alice's waist to keep her close, and Hatter's smile matched hers as she continued to dance in the way of the Oysters and watch him, waiting, as if daring him to do something. Several ideas danced through his mind, each more deliciously fun then the next, but all of them seemed to end with him getting smacked.

Hmm…must work on the whole fantasy thing. Either that or he'd morphed into a masochist without realizing.

"Enjoying yourself?" Alice leaned up to whisper into his ear, her warm breath sending pleasant shivers down his spine. With the pounding beats of the music and noise of the people around them, it was a miracle he heard her at all, but Hatter had always prided himself on having excellent hearing. No one had ever successfully snuck up on him before because of it.

Well, almost no one.

"Hate to ruin this lovely little mood…" Abby began, sounding quite intrigued.

"Then don't." He almost snarled it, and Hatter had to wonder what he'd done to deserve this. _Why_ in the bloody hell did everyone _always_ interrupt them _at the good parts!?_

Alice, for her part, buried her face in his chest and laughed.

"I've brought my partner in the club to meet you," Abby persisted in saying, and Hatter had to remind himself _why_ he liked the daft bird at all. She really did have that awful cock-blocking tendency…

"My apologies for the…interruption," the equally amused and new male voice said with an almost audible smirk. This was nothing overly new, but the voice deflated him better then a cold shower ever could.

Hatter _recognized_ the damn voice.

He spun around, Alice still in his arms, and brown eyes crinkled in amusement from behind ink black hair, a blood red top hat tilted over his right eye. The trademark 10/6 card was tucked into the golden band, and black-gloved hands tilted it up so he could get the full effect of that familiar crinkle-eyed stare.

For her part, even Abby looked a bit…guiltily off to the side. Very little could make that woman feel guilt over anything.

"Pleasure to see you again, David," that smooth-as-butter voice said with a smile.

"Good to see you too," Hatter said in a voice gone flat. "Dad."

And up in the rafters, an insignificant little cat smiled, green eyes gleaming as he stared down on the oblivious little quartet.

* * *

***Insert Cackling laughter***

**I hadn't meant for Hatter's dad to pop up yet, but the man insisted so I'm going with it. Hehehe. Just means more fun. Admittedly, this is going to put a wrench in Hatter's fun for awhile, but oh well. Honeymoon's over.**

**Special thank you to those of you who've dropped me a line and let me know how you're liking the story! I REALLY appreciate it! This chapter is for you!**

**I'd be lying if I said reviews didn't inspire me to write faster, so get to it! Click the button! Please? =)**

**Next Chapter: **_Alice meets Hatter's dad...and learns more of her Mad Hatter then said man honestly wanted her to._**  
**


	6. Chapter 6

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_**Chapter Six**_

* * *

The hat spun idly in his hand, almost like an extension of his body, and Hatter kept his gaze rooted to it, lest he do something exceedingly foolish…like trying to take a swing at his old man with his famous sledgehammer.

OK, so maybe that would be over-reacting a bit, but he sure felt like doing so just the same.

"Thought you might've learned your lesson then," Haigha (because Hatter could never think of him as James)sighed, spinning some wine around in a decanter before sipping it with all the regality of a blue blood. Since Hatter knew his family line consisted entirely of conmen and women of all kinds, he snorted at the imagery. "All that heartbroken pouting rubbish after the first Alice left and all."

"Got over that quite fast, considering it was a child's crush and all" he pointed out, leaning a little farther back in the seat. "How long has it been, Oyster time?"

Haigha shot him an unrepentant look. "Little over ten years, I'd wager. Don't keep much track of time. No point. Outlive all the Oyster folk, after all." He tossed his hat towards the hat rack on the nearby wall with ease, the topper landing on the designated peg without a hitch. "You've obviously grown into your feet an' ears, finally."

A nerve near Hatter's eye twitched, though he schooled his expression to not twitch. It wasn't that he disliked the man…Hatter had, in fact, somewhat idolized his father…but he simply didn't _know_ him. Haigha had disappeared shortly after the first Alice took down the House of Cards, but even before then his appearances had been sporadic. He hadn't lied when he'd told Carol Hamilton he hadn't known much of his parents – he really didn't. He only knew what the rest of the world did – no more, no less.

Abby, of course, knew him a little better. _She'd_ stuck around though rather then follow him on whatever whim had brought Haigha here; she'd taken him under her wing when his own father had vanished like smoke, but she'd always seemed to know how his old man was faring anyway. Hatter, for his part, never bothered questioning her as to why – her business was her own, and he'd been orphaned as far as he was concerned the day his father up and left. He'd forgotten about him actually for a long time…until today.

He wasn't sure when Abby slipped in with Alice, but he knew the moment Haigha took notice of them by the brightening of his face into a wide grin. For all his ridiculousness, Abby always _had_ made him brighten up. "So, you're the new Alice!" He was up and out of his seat with a speed one normally wouldn't expect from a man his age, but then, he barely looked old enough to be his older brother, let alone his father. He circled Alice with a curious eye like a predator, and Hatter had the distinct urge to snarl and stand sentinel in front of her.

_He's mad, but he's harmless._

"A sight better then some of his other trollops."

…_And as tactful as ever._

"Haigha!" Abby snapped, and the old man immediately ceded to her ire, waving a negligent hand in her direction with a grin.

"Tis' true, Abigail."

"My apologies," she sighed with a shake of her head, looking forlornly at Alice. "He's normally better mannered then this." More accusingly, she said with irritation dripping from her tone, "You've been drinking all night, haven't you? You know you're an asshole when you drink."

With his best innocent look, Haigha shrugged with a slow-creeping smile. "Maybe."

"I've seen worse," Alice said, moving to come stand by where he was seated, and Hatter leaned his head into her side, relaxing slightly. "Don't worry about it too much, Abby."

This seemed to make her relax some, but Haigha wasn't done. His sharp gaze got unfocused and he started staring at them all, eyes perplexed, and looked back at Abby and wondered in an almost child-like voice, "Time for tea?"

Hatter knew the minute Alice noticed the switch in his behavior and sighed under his breath. The moniker of 'Mad Hatter' had actually begun for this exact reason, his moods jumping from insanely happy to incredibly irritated, to downright confused in a matter of moments. While Hatter did admit to having an easy time switching between 'faces' (and thus maintaining the moniker because it was damn useful sometimes), it was a voluntary switch, where as Haigha's were completely involuntary.

In short, his father was madder then a box of frogs and he didn't even know it.

He couldn't quite look Alice in the eye as she kept looking between him and Haigha, her expression unreadable, and Hatter concentrated on his own hat that he'd taken off and fidgeted with it in his hands. He wasn't blind to the similarities he shared with his sire, but…Hatter cringed at the thought of becoming just as mad one day.

They waited until Abby settled him in with some tea and biscuits before she ushered them out, and Hatter waited until they were down the hall in her own private office before he turned on her. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

To her credit, she stood her ground, chin up and eyes narrowing slightly. "Would it have done any good to tell you beforehand?" Hatter made a face, and Abby smiled smugly. Of course it wouldn't. "Apparently, he made his way over out of curiosity after Alice told him about her world during that tea party of ours. Remember? You were still young, but you were there too." She snorted then, shaking her head. "He apparently forgot all about going back in his curiosity. When I showed up, still partly in withdrawal from that wretched tea, I ran into him and got us both setup in this place here."

Hatter opened his mouth and closed it several times, words forming but never leaving his lips as the more prudent side of him reared its ugly head. It was the side that had allowed him to deal with the likes of Ratty and even the Queen of Hearts and still be capable of smiling, even if it was with irony.

"I'm going to take Alice home," he finally settled on saying in a tone that said what he couldn't. _This talk isn't over_.

Abby nodded, almost absently, though her sharp gaze didn't break from his. "I'm going to stay here, make sure he doesn't get himself into trouble while he's in this mood of his, so I won't be home 'til tomorrow." She grinned at Alice then, though it wasn't nearly as suggestive as it normally would've been. "You can stay over, keep him company."

Alice looked from her, then at him, lips pursed as the gears in her head visibly worked through all that she'd seen and observed. "I just might," she agreed, and Hatter blinked as he turned to her in surprise.

"Really?" Surely he hadn't sounded hopeful? He wasn't _that_ hard up for nighttime company…not that he'd wanted one lately, unless it was Alice. While the concept of dating and courting wasn't new to him, Hatter had never partaken in thinking much of it. All his partners had been for shagging and power of some kind but little else.

Come to think of it, Abby was the only female in his life who served any sort of purpose (outside of shagging, which she'd never filled for him…business was business, after all, and adding shagging to it only made a ruddy mess of things) once so ever before Alice.

So strictly speaking…he'd never actually _courted_ a girl. Not really. Abby had given him the crash course before that whole _appear-on-Alice's-doorstep_ thing, and combined with the fact that he instinctively knew he had to go slow with Alice (because she was just so damn _confusing _sometimes and never did what he thought she would!), Hatter hadn't allowed himself to think of ever keeping her to himself overnight no matter how much he wanted to.

Yet here she was, giving him a _"Why wouldn't I?"_ look and confirming yet again that she _never_ did what she was supposed to.

Confusing Oysters.

"I'll just let my mother know," she told him with a smile, squeezing his arm before she walked out into the hall with that evil cell phone thing in her hand. Hatter watched her until the door shut and blocked her from his sight, though the lack of her presence also made him more aware of the not-so-pleasant feelings inside him surrounding the man not several feet away from him and beyond a wall…or two.

Abby snapped perfectly polished nails in front of him and he jerked his head to look at her, and for a moment Hatter felt like he'd gone back in time as he looked at her face. He was back to when she was just another of the many deadly birds in a not so kind world and he'd been the charming thief, using who he had to so they could get by.

He was the guy Hatter was terrified Alice would one day have to see.

"She'll accept it, you know," Abby said idly, the serious expression melting into the more familiar thoughtful smile. "The bits and pieces you want to hide. She's seen flashes already and hasn't run." She glanced back in the direction where Haigha had been left with his tea, her expression wry. "You don't even know for sure if you'll be as touched deeply when it happens."

"It wouldn't be fair," he muttered. "Not to Alice. I don't want her becoming like…" Hatter refused to look up, but Abby made him with a demanding hand.

"Like me?" she finished. "Like all the others before me?" Letting go of his chin, she slapped his cheek once, firmly, and let it stay there for a moment as she said, "It's not all bad."

He stared at her, incredulous. "You don't regret it? Not once? Even if he wasn't very mad when I was young, he still didn't have many lucid moments. You didn't once think about just leaving him to his own devices? Just saying, "Toss it," and living on your own terms?"

"For every Mad Hatter there has been a March Hare," Abby shrugged. "We're closest to Wonderland's Heart and to be so fortunate has its price. Madness is yours." She gestured in the direction of Haigha's office. "This is mine. Sanity inside the Insanity_._"

"That makes absolutely no sense at all, you realize," Hatter pointed out, his shoulders drooping. It was a fight he knew he wouldn't win, but the concern was the same.

"Dear Alice of New Legends is anything _but_ a March Hare," Abby told him as she shoved him firmly towards her office's door. It was as blatant of a dismissal as any. "Just remember to trust in her. We women know what's right for us, after all."

"How?"

Abby grinned widely then, her usual cheer back in her face and lighting her eyes so brightly they gleamed. "We birds are smarter then you bloody bees, of course. How else do you think?"

_**

* * *

I swear, this one gave me a spot of trouble, but I hope this makes sense. I've taken a few creative liberties. I'm viewing the "madness" in Hatter's family as a progressive thing of sorts – a disconnection with reality that slowly gets longer and more serious as time wears on. The price for being "closest to Wonderland's Heart", which most probably know what THAT is without me saying. But for those who don't I won't share that surprise just yet. =) I'll show more on the exact role of the "March Hare" in a later chapter, but for now Hatter's is the important one to understand.**_

_**I just can't give the guy a break, can I?**_

_**As always, THANK YOU for all the reviews! Last chapter got the most I've seen yet! This chapter is a little darker, but I hope it pleased never the less.**_

_**So go on, press the button! Let me know! =)**_

_**Next up:**__Hatter opens up to Alice and lets her see a bit of the man who existed BEFORE he became the Hatter she knows and loves._


	7. Chapter 7

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_**Chapter Seven**_

_**

* * *

Wonderland, 136 years ago (Roughly 11 Oyster Years)**_

Hatter liked darkness.

Not that Abby would let him have that bit of peace, no sir. The faint light from the lantern in her hand disturbed the quiet cloak and made him squint his eyes, debating the odds of squelching the intrusive flame and getting out of smacking range.

Unlikely.

"He's late," she sighed, and the lantern shifted, bringing the light closer to where he sat in the darkness, waiting. Patience was not a virtue he'd accumulated in the 21 years of life he had behind him, nor was it something Abby had an endless supply of. Then again, she was old, with 70 plus years behind her. She at least had some, though it was decidedly less whenever it involved her brother, Theodore.

They were a happy little machine, the three of them. Hatter found it to be an agreeable sort of co existence. He got the goods to sell, Theodore sold them for credits, and Abby found the places where she could milk all she could out of what money they had to keep them all plump and happy and fed. It was rather irritating when Theo kept them waiting like this, however. Hatter understood the distraction of the pretty birds and even indulged whenever he could in a bit of…fun…before discarding them away. For him, business best come first before satisfying his newfound curiosity in the fairer and deadlier sex.

The warehouse district, almost entirely abandoned, was his playground. He'd been living here since his father had disappeared and Abby, his father's old friend, had taken him in and watched after him. He was thankful for it, certainly. She'd taught him invaluable skills and the true value of information. Theo, Abby's brother, was a bit flighty, though he was a sound enough…sort of. A little obsessive with his face, but other then that he'd never had problems with the bloke. Besides, since he'd gotten some new job he hardly saw him, which suited Hatter fine. Theo always had something about him that seemed a tad…off.

He did, however, accompany Abby to see him every couple months when Theo gave her some credits that she could use to haggle for food. It wasn't because it was unsafe to walk about alone (which, while true, was much more likely for anyone foolish enough to target Malignant March, Abby's moniker among the gutter churls for her tendency to slowly destroy those who fall on her bad side) but because it simply bored him to sit on his hands while she was away. Hatter _detested_ boredom and there was always something going on in the streets with the recent overtaking by the Hearts still fresh in everyone's mind. Why let her have all the fun if something was going on?

"Maybe he saw a pretty bird and thought to roost a while," he grinned, easily dodging a tossed rock with a simple move of his head. "Temper, Abby bird, temper."

"He's a fool for birds more likely to kill him then please him," she snorted.

"You'd never speak from experience, of course?" Hatter's eyes danced with challenge. It was such fun baiting her, after all.

Not that she ever took the bait. Abby flicked him on the forehead, a smirk on her lips. "Betta' then your last attempt, I'll concede, but not enough to irritate me into stupidity, fledgling Hatta. You're a thousand years to early to try and bait me."

Hatter shrugged – it was worth a shot. "I can see the distraction, though he would benefit in seeing them as naught but a momentary dalliance. To be forgotten as quickly as they are captured. A bloke could lose his shirt and more if he makes more of it then there is."

Abby shook her head at him, chuckling. "True enough, but oh to be alive to see the day you eat those words. It shall be a glorious day, little Hatta. One I will savor." She chuckled again, but it silenced abruptly as the sound of footsteps assaulted both their ears. Caution halted their tongues and he shared a glance with her that confirmed she was not at all pleased to see that the Queen's suits were milling about, and that Theo was standing among them like a comrade in arms.

"The Queen will be pleased, March," the Spade was saying, staring at the unconscious man Theo was holding. "With this new achievement, she may promote you into the ranks of the court in no time at all."

"My pleasure, sir." He handed over the unconscious Oyster – for Hatter could see the tattoo from the light on his leg – and bowed as the suits left, not daring to come near them until long after the scarab had left. Theo was smiling, proud of his accomplishments, but one look Abby's way confirmed what Hatter had already known.

The female March was livid.

"What have you _done_?" she hissed, and he could feel the faintest hints of magic snapping around her fingertips. It was almost immediately squelched, but Hatter took a look around, always weary. The Queen of Hearts was a selfish bird and was gathering everyone with even a drop of old magic in them to use to her pleasure. Those who didn't go along with her demands met mysterious ends…though there wasn't anything mysterious about it. They were killed, quickly and quietly, and disposed of just as quickly and quietly by those in the tyrant's employ.

His right hand itched, aching to let loose as his own bit of magic echoed Abby's own flare, and he kept an eye out for the ever vigilant suits just in case. His second sense was tingling, telling him something was off as he scanned for any sign that someone was watching.

"How do you think I get the credits to keep you both fed?" Theo March was saying incredulously, taking a step closer, and Abby took a step back from her brother, shaking her head.

Hatter didn't pay much attention to the emotional anvil settling between the two – it wasn't his business and, honestly, he'd figured it was something along those lines to begin with. People didn't get many opportunities to get food credits short of working for whoever was in power. He caught sight of the suit dashing into the shadows and narrowed his eyes. He knew a setup when he saw one. Hatter bolted from the shadows, quick as a fox, and his right hand let loose with a punch when someone tried to grab him. A man cursed and the hand vanished, though Hatter didn't bother turning to look at who it was. It made no difference.

Self preservation dictated he take the long way home as a precaution, smirking slightly. He had no illusions as to who the ambush was for – he and Theo had never gotten along well. He was even a bit jealous of him, to be honest. And the boy loved his sister with a fanaticism that was downright peculiar, even by Wonderland's standards. No, Hatter had no illusions once so ever as to who those suits were waiting for.

Which is why he wasn't worried when Abby didn't immediately come home. He waited there for nearly a week before she finally came back, striding in with the same confidence she always had and acting as if nothing strange had happened.

She was also covered in blood from head to toe, most (if not all) of it from someone else.

Hatter smiled. "Busy week?"

"Always." She grinned, ever cheerful, and ducked behind a changing screen before tossing the soaked rags over to him. "Burn them."

If he were a considerate guy, he would ask if she was alright – or if she would like a shoulder to cry on because of the slight waver in her voice. If he were a better man of any kind, Hatter would find a way to give her some sort of comfort over the fact that Theo was likely never going to be a part of their lives again.

But he was no man, nor was he very considerate. If he heard a waver in her voice or saw a shimmer in her eye, he ignored it and turned away so he couldn't see it anymore.

Hatter just smiled as if nothing were amiss and nodded. "Need you even ask?"

_**

* * *

Present Time**_

"I was a very different guy back then."

Alice, for her part, remained silent. Her silence was making Hatter fidget, his tie discarded as they sat in the living room and he tried to make himself comfortable despite his uneasiness. It was difficult, but he managed it and still made Alice want to go over to him and hug him…or eat him alive. Hatter wore sex appeal like a second skin and she was admittedly a little tipsy from the drink she'd had.

_What did Abby PUT in that drink?_

"You're one hundred and fifty seven years old," she finally said, only part question. He nodded, not quite meeting her eyes. "And Abby…she's over two hundred?"

"Two hundred and twelve," he said, more slowly, unsure of where she was going with this. Alice wasn't quite certain either, though her brain was slowly piecing it all together.

"I thought you two grew up together," she finally said. "But Abby _raised_ you? So…she's like your mom?"

Hatter made a face, truly horrified. "Lord, no. She raised me, yes, but it was more of a student-teacher thing. She taught me the true value of information and how to wield it. And Abby _is_ my friend, Alice. Age means so very little in Wonderland compared to knowledge and power and we always had a surplus on the former."

_In other words…she taught him how to blackmail and con people,_ Alice thought, though that in itself was unsurprising. She'd just always had this image of Abby being Hatter's age, and the both of them growing up together. Trying to adjust her thoughts to her being the 'parental figure' of sorts for Hatter as a boy was…difficult to say the least. She was just so…so…_Abby._

"Of all the things to find odd, it's the age," Hatter muttered, shaking his head. "I've done things that would make most Oyster's shudder and you're hung up on our _age difference?_" He laughed, though not like it was funny.

"It's a part of you I had an idea of, Hatter," she finally said, frowning at the bit of self loathing in his tone. Self loathing and Hatter just didn't fit well. "I never thought you were a saint. That you weren't is no surprise to me."

"I treated my enemies like crap and my allies even worse," he admitted, and even hatter's hair seemed to droop slightly. "They were tools to be used and disposed of when they lost usefulness. Abby saved me not long after that from her brother, Theo – he'd come to the shop and shot me. She drank a whole case of teas and went into a tea-induced haze to fight him. Abby slaughtered an entire battalion of suits that had accompanied Theo and decapitated her own brother in her rage. Dormy found us after it all, healed me up, and managed to barricade her in a room until I was well enough to handle her. She was in tea withdrawal when I finally saw her and half insane, twitching constantly. Once you drink tea, Alice, the craving never stops, though it will lessen over time and lack of usage." His fingers fidgeted in his lap, toying idly with the rim of his hat. "If I was a better man, I should've helped her more…took care of her. But all I thought was she'd become a liability to me and that it was more then enough on my part to get her out of Wonderland and away from the Queen who was calling for her head. Normally I would've simply left her to the streets. So I smuggled her to the glass with the Resistance's help and shoved her over. I took up her job in the Resistance as their supplier and helped Oyster's who wandered over get back home occasionally. I hated teas with a renewed passion – at the time, all I thought was that they had cost me a very useful ally. I never even realized she was my friend until later."

"What made you change?" she asked quietly, placing a gentle hand on his arm in silent support.

Hatter smiled and kissed her temple, his own hand resting atop hers. "An Oyster, actually. A lovesick young Oyster couple had wandered through the glass, thinking it would be a grand adventure. They soon learned Wonderland was not the place of fairy tales and I assisted them back home gladly – in a way, I hated Oysters to some extent for the strong emotions they brought with them. They reaked of love like a beacon in the night and the girl, Trista, was of the idealistic sort. She was intent on changing my ways of thinking and enlightening me to the possibilities before me; friendship, love, soul mates. In a way, she did, though it was long after they had been safely smuggled back home. I started thinking of how easy it might be to rely on someone like she had on her Joseph through the entire ordeal – how…nice. It was when I thought about it that I realized Abby had actually been my friend and much more then a mere pawn for my use. It made me miss her dearly when I thought of all I really had lost." He squeezed her hand, and his face had a fond look on it that made Alice feel a little embarrassed. "I had been debating the wisdom of going to find her, just to see how she was faring, when another little Oyster was dropped in my lap by Ratty, spouting nonsense about going to the Heart Casino and rescuing her bloody bloke from the Queen. How was I to know she'd manage to change my mind the rest of the way and make me really _care_ about something other then my own hide as well?"

Alice hugged him around the waste, a wealth of emotions churning in her chest. Sympathy for the truly lonely man he was, irritation towards the callous man he'd been, and a powerful affection for the all around awkward man that _is_ Hatter, hidden smoothly behind charm and tricks and humor. "You're a good man, Hatter," she reiterated. Somehow, she had a feeling it was what he needed to hear – what she really did believe from the bottom of her heart.

Hatter hugged her tighter to him, and she shifted so she was sitting across his lap, face burrowed into his neck as he inhaled shakily. "I'm trying," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear. "Just for you, I'm trying."

_**

* * *

I'm SO sorry it took so long! This chapter gave me HELL. How much it wanted me to show of the past, how long it wanted to be…arg! Horrible! But I'm proud of how it turned out. Hopefully the next one won't take so long. A 24 hour bug and a hectic schedule this past week didn't help either. Sigh.**_

_**A little more dramatic, and I'm trying to keep the timeline canon. Hopefully I haven't slipped up with it. It will be a lot more light hearted next chapter and even MORE fun begins when an unexpected visitor ends up on Hatter's doorstep! *Insert evil cackling***_

_**As always, please review! Go on…press the button! You know you want to.**_

_**Next Chapter: **__Hatter finally moves into his own place, Alice plans a house warming party Wonderland-style, and a surprise guest ends up on his doorstep that leaves Hatter convinced Jack really DOES have it out for him._


	8. Chapter 8

_**Beyond the Looking Glass**_

_**Chapter Eight**_

"My son hates me."

Of all the moments to have an insight like that, Abby mused, Haigha had to choose now. She glanced towards the bar where said man was cheerfully schmoozing a gaggle of female twenty something's and earning the largest sum of tips she'd ever seen.

Honestly, Abby hadn't expected anything less from him.

_The Cheshire Club_ was as popular as ever and drawing in more young females with the "hot new bartender". It made her proud as a business woman _and_ as his friend. Hatter was acclimating extremely well to the Oyster World and was actually moving out of her place tomorrow. As his friend, it made her a little sad. It really had felt like old times, keeping an eye on him and having him around. At the same time, she was glad to have her freedom back. She missed Haigha too, and he hadn't been around much since Hatter had transplanted himself from Wonderland.

The man called the "Mad Hatter" could face a hungry pack of Jabberwocky's with only his hat and a huge grin and come out without a hair out of place, and yet he was afraid of his own son.

_Only in Wonderland could such a paradox be born_, she mused with a sigh.

When he was cognizant of his past, Haigha was as charming as Hatter and just as dangerous on most female hearts. Wariness was in his eyes too – the weight of his 'curse' on his shoulders – but only people like her knew to look for it and could ever see it. A wealth of knowledge lay in his eyes, too. The only real differences between Hatter and Haigha were that the elder hatter was taller and not as lazy about shaving in the morning. It also made him look younger then his own son, but she knew better.

"He does not hate you," she pointed out, flipping the large feather from her hat out of her face. "Hatter doesn't know you. You left us before he could. He hates what you remind him of – the family curse he will one day shoulder in your stead."

Haigha made a face – a petulant expression Hatter often wore when he, too, was reminded of unpleasant things he'd rather forget. "I _apologized_ to you already," he certainly _did_ whine, and Abby smiled smugly from underneath her hat. "Besides, he had you. You were always better with that sort of thing, anyway. Even when I was lucid, I never worried about that. His mother was a random trollop who couldn't feed herself, let alone a child. You were always the one playing mother to the boy even _before_ I wandered off."`

"He was just so _cute_," Abby lamented with a wistful smile. "He was…well, he was you, only less frustrating and innocent."

Haigha grunted. "I am not _cute._ Cute is not a word a man likes being called."

"Good thing you're not a man," she smirked, and did a little twirl before he tried to whack her. "I like his Alice. She's certainly better then that little child. Such a petulant and demanding little girl she was."

"I thought she was quite endearing," he defended absently.

"She hated the tea," Abby pointed out with all the severity it deserved. Even Haigha had to concede to that point. "And you only liked her because she had a crush on you and flattered your inflated ego constantly."

He shrugged. "So?"

"Speaking of tea parties," she grinned, an echo of the Cheshire Cat's grin on her face, "Alice is throwing one as a house warming for Hatter's new apartment. He's finished decorating it to his liking. Even I haven't seen it. She wants to surprise him after he gets back from the tea shop." Hatter's presence at Tea Thyme on Sunday's was as beneficial as his presence here in the club and she'd be remiss not to take advantage of it. "She's invited us."

_That_ surprised him. "Us, you say? You I am not surprised, but why me?"

"You are his father," she pointed out. "She is his girlfriend."

"So?" Haigha blinked, uncomprehending. "You are his mother, for all intents and purposes."

Abby's eye twitched slightly. "For goodness sakes, I'm not his mum. I'm his _aunt_."

Haigha waved it off as if the title meant very little – which it did. "Yes, his aunt by blood who raised him like a mum and treats him as a best friend. Certainly. That makes perfect sense."

_Only to you,_ she thought. Only Wonderland natives could ever come up with such confusing dynamics for their relationships. She'd been here in New York a tad too long for it to make much sense anymore. Everything made so much more sense when you were a touch Mad. "Regardless, are you coming with me or not?"

His expression turned thoughtful, one hand rubbing his smooth chin, and for one moment Abby thought she may have lost him again. There was never any warning for when the madness came; it just turned on and off at random intervals like a light switch. The slow, creeping grin on his face, however, confirmed he was still cognizant. "Why of course, my darling. I would not miss it for the world."

_Oh boy._ Mentally, Abby ran through every way the tea party could end, and grimaced. _Sorry, Hatta. This isn't going to end nice for you either way._

* * *

Alice closed her cell phone with a satisfied smile, pleased. Sunday came so fast it had seemed surreal. While she had a feeling Hatter would be cross with her about inviting his father, she had no illusions about the importance of the man who shared so many mannerisms with his son. As much as Hatter was uncomfortable around him, she hadn't been oblivious to the almost constant looks he gave said man at the club whenever she went on the weekends. He never spoke to him or even acknowledged his presence – all business went through Abby alone – but Hatter always kept an eye on Haigha whenever he was on the floor, as if he would vanish in a cloud of smoke if he didn't. And while Alice had no intentions of forcing him to communicate with him, it would be a bonus if he did if given the chance. Her motivations, however, were selfish; Alice simply wanted to know more of the man who comprised half of the man she loved.

She wanted to know – God help her for even daydreaming about it – the people who might one day be her in-laws.

Alice was not a daydreamer; she preferred practical reality. She'd never dreamed of her perfect type of guy or a fairy tale wedding, simply because she'd never believed in the possibilities. But with Hatter she did; he inspired all those little girl dreams she hadn't allowed herself to ever ponder because he made anything seem possible. Marriage. Children. Happily Ever After.

_Dear lord, I've gone over the deep end with a smile on my face the whole time._

Smiling slightly, Alice picked the lock of Hatter's apartment – the place that was once Jack's and had been gutted from the roots up – and beamed at the tell tale click as the door unlocked. It was a skill even Hatter didn't know she had, though Alice never used it on principal. He'd probably laugh himself sick if she told him.

Stepping inside, her smile softened as she examined the place. Alice had only seen Jack's place in passing, so she remembered the very utilitarian place he'd had. This apartment, with its colorful furniture and modern appeal, didn't even seem like the same place. While the feel of it was very similar to Abby's place, Hatter's had a more creative bend to it with abstract pieces of art hanging on the wall…and _was that a guitar?_ Staring into the lava lamp that was an exact replica of her own, Alice dropped her supplies onto the long table and fished around in the kitchen. As she'd suspected, Hatter had more then enough tea cups to suffice. The black lacquer hutch that matched the black and white theme of the little kitchen area was filled with nearly two dozen sets, all brilliantly displayed against the monotony of the surroundings. It made their colorful presence pop out more so.

How he could even use them befuddled her, but Hatter was not like most people; he didn't keep things for the sake of keeping them. He only kept things if he planned on using them. Still, it made Alice nervous, and she picked the cheaper looking cup and saucer sets that _didn't_ look like they cost more then a month's worth of paychecks to buy. They were colorful and sturdy; perfect for the impromptu tea party for Hatter's housewarming.

Alice was just setting up the table centerpiece – a colorful arrangement of red flowers with little white rabbits and black top hat figurines mixed into it. Dead center at the top was the 10/6 card, and she was just putting the finishing touches when Abby busted in, beaming in pride as she took in the surroundings.

"Always said he had marvelous taste," she nodded with approval. "I brought all the teas I could think of from my shop without him noticing. Haigha will come a little later."

"Work?"

Abby snorted despite herself. "I wish. No…he's a bit tired, you see, so he's taking a nap at my place."

There was something more to it – the tone of Abby's voice said as much – but Alice let it slide. It was probably none of her business anyway.

_

* * *

I ache._

Hatter cracked the stiff joints in his arms, grimacing as they popped their protest. He'd always known Abby was a slave driver – this simply proved it. Hatter hadn't realized muscles could whimper until now. His only consolation was the fact that he loved his job – both of them. The tea shop was a piece of history that made him nostalgic, while the club job helped him learn how other blokes his age were supposed to act…well, sort of. He still had a few issues with how…_disrespectful_ they could be. Hatter figured Alice would kick his ass with her fighting moves if he ever tried to grope her as he saw many of the men 'his age' do to women.

_Yeah. I still prize the life given to me._

Hatter had visions of warm baths, silk sheets, and 10 blissful hours of unbothered sleep as he opened his apartment door, which is the only conceivable reason he could think of for why he reacted the way he did when everyone jumped out at him grinning and wearing Wonderland-ish clothes.

His fist connected with the nose of the one closest to him – which happened to be Abby, most fortunately. Things would've been worse if it had been Alice. It was a conditioned reflex for him to hit anyone who jumped out at him, and he didn't fancy another beat down without warning. Of course, as soon as he realized the error, Hatter mentally cursed and went to give her a hand up. "Jesus, Abby, I'm-"

He was expecting the retaliatory punch – really. It still shocked him silent and knocked him onto his ass though.

Abby rubbed her nose, lips downturned as she checked if it was broken. Satisfied when she found out it wasn't, she muttered, "Still haven't lost the touch at least."

"I'm sorry!" Hatter pinched his nose, wincing when he saw blood. "Neither have you, damn it."

"Hatter!" Alice was beside him, a wad of tissues in her hand to help stop the bleeding, and she had a vaguely guilty expression which left little doubt as to who had orchestrated this impromptu gathering. "I'm sorry; I didn't think…"

"It's OK." He stuck the tissues up his nose, eyebrow quirking as a thought occurred to him. "How did you get in? I took the only key from Abby days ago."

The guilty expression intensified…and got a little sheepish, too. "I may have picked the lock…"

_Picked the lock? Alice? MY Alice?_ Hatter stared at her, bemused and maybe just a bit turned on. "_Really?"_

Abby was shaking her head, exasperated with them all, when the doorbell rang. "That's probably the last guest coming to this shindig."

"We're off to a wonderful start," Alice muttered behind him while Hatter got to his feet, pleased that the bleeding had stopped. He tossed the dirty tissues away before opening the door, curious as to who else was coming, and nearly lost his eyebrows into his hairline at the person who stood before him.

"Well, this is a shocker," he drawled, and both women peered over his shoulders to see who it was.

Sharp blue eyes regarded them warily, though her held was held high and her nose slightly upturned as the Duchess stood tall under their scrutiny with several bags surrounding her feet. "I would think that's my line."

"What are _you_ doing here?" Abby asked, perplexed.

With all the regality of royalty, Duchess motioned quite pointedly to the bags at her feet. "What does it look like? The man at your place said I could find you here. I'm coming to live here."

"…Live here?"

Abby was not generally obtuse, but even Hatter had to agree with her faintly echoed sentiment. He just wasn't sure _he_ was hearing right.

"Yes." Duchess' chin went up further, her luscious blonde hair falling down her back. "Jack sent me to you because I want to live here. In this world. He said you and…" She motioned to him, Hatter though, rather irreverently. "…him would help me."

He opened his mouth to say something at the same time Abby did, but Haigha chose that moment to stride down the hall, not quite there but lucid enough to stare at Abby with the same bemused inquiry on his face and ask, "Did I miss the tea?"

_That confirms it, _Hatter thought, banging his head against the doorframe. _Heart really DOES hate me._

_**

* * *

A/N: I am SO sorry! I would say the next one will be out quicker, but life is interfering with my writing. Big time. So I'm making it my goal to get at least a chapter finished and posted every other week until things resolve themselves. Please bare with me!**_

_**Next Chapter: **__It was supposed to be a grand, romantic night at his place with Alice. Playing therapist for Duchess' problems had NOT been a part of his plans._


End file.
